Best of Enemies
The film recounts the ten debates between William F. Buckley,Jr. and Gore Vidal since 1968 in ABC News. The film also takes a closer look at their subsequent thoughts and action on their following articles.
14 January 1960, Queens, New York, USA
13 April 1949, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, UK
27 December 1995, LaGrange, Georgia, USA
19 October 1945, Rochester, New York, USA
12 May 1914, Ferriday, Louisiana, USA
3 October 1925, West Point, New York, USA
24 November 1925, New York City, New York, USA
6 February 1911, Tampico, Illinois, USA
7 December 1928, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
17 January 1942, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
2 June 1949, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
6 July 1921, New York City, New York, USA
26 January 1925, Shaker Heights, Ohio, USA
21 February 1955, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
4 November 1916, St. Joseph, Missouri, USA
10 August 1963, Godstone, Surrey, England, UK
26 February 1933, New York City, New York, USA
17 October 1915, Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
31 January 1923, Long Branch, New Jersey, USA
11 March 1934, El Paso, Texas, USA
19 November 1936, Gibbon, Nebraska, USA
June 12, 2016
Almost obscenely entertaining.
August 21, 2015
What followed [in the debates] was not so much a clash of well-articulated ideas as a clash of highly articulate persons who regarded ideas as ammunition.
August 13, 2015
Like its two subjects, "Best of Enemies" is lively and smart. Unlike them, it's even-handed.
May 27, 2016
If even these two witty, well-educated, well-mannered men of letters couldn't keep their on-air interactions from degenerating into cheap shots and name-calling, who could?
July 14, 2016
Anyone interested in political debate and the state of modern television will find Best of Enemies most engrossing.
December 04, 2015
This doc about the 10-night series, directed by Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville (who won an Oscar last year for Twenty Feet From Stardom), provides an entertaining and, ultimately, depressing peek into TV at a pivotal moment.
August 14, 2015
Did anyone win? Most say Vidal, since Buckley descended to physical threats. But really, has anyone won in any of this endless bickering?
July 10, 2016
Its goal is primarily to entertain its audience by presenting a chewy compendium of the snittiest sound bites.
January 20, 2016
Simultaneously documenting the on-and-off air sparring matches for audiences too young to remember them, but also chart their place in the history of modern political discourse make this a nourishing and entertaining documentary.
August 13, 2015
For better or for worse, we'll never again see television quite like that documented in the compelling "Best of Enemies" ...
February 12, 2016
As Christopher Hitchens puts it, "There's nothing feigned about their mutual animosity. They really do despise each other."
August 13, 2015
There is something about the siren call of the TV camera that can turn even big thinkers into brawlers. It was true then and it's true now, and "Best of Enemies" serves as a thoroughly enjoyable reminder.
